Roundup of Week 9, playoff games for South Jersey high school football

Saddled with a long losing streak and a sub-.500 record, the Burlington Township High School football team began its postseason run with one of the biggest upsets in the Garden State on Friday.

The seventh-seeded Falcons rattled off 34 unanswered points en route to a 34-7 victory over second-seeded Ocean Township in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 3 playoffs.

“We came into this game, knowing we were going to be able to run the ball," running back Naquan Jones said. "Watching a lot of film, we knew that their run defense was kind of weak.’’

Burlington Township, which improved to 4-6, will travel to third-seeded Hopewell Valley for a semifinal game next Friday. The Falcons entered the postseason with a four-game losing streak.

Baron Davis threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes to David Schley and Jordan Barclay while Naquan Jones had two rushing TDs to power Burlington Township.

“The offensive line has really stepped up this year," Jones said. "We came into this game, knowing we had to dominate, and that’s what we did. Big props to my O-line. They really dominated. It’s not just me. It’s my O-line that did the job for me."

Ocean Township played without its starting quarterback Tyler Douglas because of injury.

In other South Jersey Group 3 action:

Delsea 48, Deptford 13

Eastside 27, South Plainfield 6

Hopewell Valley 34, Matawan 21

South Jersey Group 5

Cherokee 45, Williamstown 14: Quarterback Ryan Bender had two rushing touchdowns and two passing TDs, both to Cameron Burti, to lead the way.

Williamstown’s Harold Hill had a receiving touchdown on offense and an interception returned for a score on defense to round out the Braves’ scoring.

Cherokee will travel to Kingsway in the second round of the South Jersey Group 5 playoffs next week.

Kingsway 35, Southern 6: Quarterback Nate Maiers threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth score as the defending sectional champion Dragons opened their title defense in impressive fashion.

Maiers connected with Darrell Brown Jr. three times in the first quarter on TD passes of 7, 10 and 15 yards, and hit Benny Liles III on a 10-yard scoring strike in the second quarter. Maiers added a TD run of 30 yards in the third quarter.

Central Jersey Group 5

Lenape 40, Freehold Twp. 0: Zyaire Goffney-Fleming rushed 15 times for 144 yards and two scores and added a third score on a pass reception as the No. 1 seed dominated in its quarterfinal-round victory.

Macon Lincoln added 57 yards and a score on the ground for Lenape, which improved to 5-5. Quarterback Jaelin Mims threw for three touchdowns to Goffney-Fleming, Javier Best and Ty Smith.

Atlantic City 32, Rancocas Valley 28: Sah’nye Degraffenreidt hauled in two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, including one for the decisive score with 47 seconds remaining, as the Vikings captured their first postseason win in a decade.

Edison 10, Hillsborough 7

North Brunswick 45, Hunterdon Central 31

South Jersey Group 4

Hammonton 48, Hightstown 6: Lucas Goehringer and Kenny Smith each rushed for a pair of touchdowns as the top-seeded Blue Devils advanced with ease with a blowout home win.

Josh Camargo ran for a touchdown and Nakeem Powell hauled in a TD pass from Billy Way as Hammonton built a 31-0 lead in the first half.

Shawnee 42, Ocean City 7: Joe Papa threw a pair of touchdown passes to Ethan Krauss in the first quarter and rushed for a third score in the second as the Renegades rolled out to a big lead and sailed to a home win over the Raiders.

Papa completed 16-of-19 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns and added 108 yards on 17 carries on the ground.

Krauss hauled in seven catches for 110 yards, including TD grabs of 20 and 46 yards in the opening quarter.

Millville 49, Lacey 6: Junior quarterback Jacob Zamot fired five touchdown passes as the second-seeded Thunderbolts rolled to an opening-round home win.

Zamot connected with Lotzeir Brooks, Freddie Lavan III and Donte Smith as Millville opened a 21-0 lead just 14 minutes into the game. He also had TD throws to Ta’Ron Haile and Smith sandwiched around a Naeem Sharp 84-yard TD run.

Central Jersey Group 4

Mainland 63, Moorestown 10

Long Branch 13, Pennsauken 6 (OT): Pennsauken bowed out of the postseason with an overtime loss that snapped the team's eight-game unbeaten streak.

Central Jersey Group 3

Cedar Creek 28, Timber Creek 7: Pirates quarterback Billy Smith played the best half of football of his season Friday night, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another over the final two quarters as the sixth-seeded Pirates upset the third-seeded Chargers in the Central Jersey Group 3 quarterfinals.

Smith finished the evening 13-of-22 for 167 yards and ran 10 times for 56 yards, Alim Parks had 3 grabs for 80 yards and a score, Zaire Pilgrim snagged 4 for 52 and a TD, and Justin Castillo got into the end zone on the ground and had an interception on defense. Cedar Creek will visit No. 2 Camden in the semifinals next week.

Seneca 47, Somerville 33: The top-seeded Golden Eagles overcame two early deficits to knock off Somerville and run their unbeaten streak to nine.

Brayden Davis hit Kyle Stickel with a 26-yard touchdown pass to give Seneca its first lead of the game with 2:06 left in the first half and Zac Fearon’s pick-6 gave the Golden Eagles a 27-14 lead going into the intermission.

Seneca will await Saturday's Highland/Manasquan winner for a semifinal showdown next Friday night.

Camden 41, Nottingham 0

Central Jersey Group 2

Gloucester 14, West Deptford 0: Jake Zearfoss carried 36 times for 180 yards and a touchdowns as Gloucester advanced in Central Jersey Group 2. Zearfoss capped the Lions’ opening drive with a 5-yard run. Jake Seibert added a 1-yard sneak in the third quarter.

Meanwhile the Lions’ defense held West Deptford to 100 yards of offense and seven first downs. The Eagles’ last possession of the day ended with an incomplete pass in the red zone. Gloucester ran Zearfoss on seven consecutive plays to close it out.

Haddonfield 35, Cinnaminson 12: Patrick Kane recorded a pick-6 and blocked a punt that turned into another touchdown as the second-seeded Haddons earned an opening-round win. Haddonfield will host third-seeded Gloucester in the semifinal round on Friday.

Willingboro 52, New Providence 7

Point Pleasant Boro 62, Overbrook 27

South Jersey Group 2

Pleasantville 25, Johnson 7: Marlon Leslie’s 77-yard touchdown run put the Greyhounds in front with 10 minutes left in the third quarter and they ran away from Johnson from there to advance to the semifinal round.

Fourth-seeded Pleasantville will travel to top-seeded Raritan next Friday.

The Greyhounds broke the game open in the fourth quarter when Dasan Brown Jr. hauled in a 69-yard touchdown pass from Samir Miller before Gabriel Rodriguez had a pick-6.

South Jersey Group 1

Maple Shade 31, South Hunterdon 7: The Wildcats gave their fans plenty to cheer about during the program’s first home playoff game in 44 years.

Central Jersey Group 1

Glassboro 18, Keyport 0: Zaivon Burt-Graves ran for a score and Jhaisir Harden found the end zone twice on rushing attempts as the Bulldogs captured the program’s first postseason win in seven years.

Woodstown 45, Schalick 8: James Hill rushed for three touchdowns as the top-seeded Wolverines opened their postseason in dominating fashion with a home win.

Woodstown took the excitement out of the game early, posting 24 points in the first quarter thanks to TD runs by Hill and Bryce Belinfanti along with a touchdown pass from Max Webb to David Harvey.

Saturday's games

Woodbury 34, Penns Grove 0: The top-seeded Thundering Herd rumbled into the semifinal round as Anthony Reagan rushed for a pair of touchdowns, Bryan Johnson threw for a score and ran for another and the defense posted its first shutout of the season.

Woodbury (7-2) will host fifth-seeded Shore Regional next Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.

Woodbury’s offense got off to a sluggish start as Reagan’s 6-yard touchdown in the second quarter was the only score of the first half.

The Thundering Herd broke the game open in the third quarter starting with a 58-yard touchdown strike from Johnson to JaBron Solomon.

Dominic Abbatelli had a takeaway while Jasuan Solomon and Dorian Dunbar each had two sacks to power the defense.

Paulsboro 42, Audubon 13: Sharif Green had a career day as he caught 4 passes for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns and snagged an interception on defense as the Raiders won their 26th consecutive meeting against Audubon on Saturday.

Quarterback Rocco Pellegrini was 11-of-16 for 267 yards and 3 scores, Jordan Eli had a pair of forced fumbles and a sack, Ivan Murray finished with two sacks and Preston Moore had 118 yards from scrimmage, which included a 55-yard TD scamper. Paulsboro will face top-seeded Woodstown in the Central 1 semifinals on Friday.

Oakcrest 14, Delaware Valley 0: The third-seeded Falcons earned their first playoff victory since 2010 and just the third in school history as they advanced to the South 2 semifinals.

Jaleel Williams had a 5-yard touchdown run and Zicri Forest scored on a 21-yard scamper.

Winslow 16, Colts Neck 8: Jamil Peterson had 19 carries for 121 yards and a touchdown to lift the fifth-seeded Eagles past No. 4 Colts Neck in the Central 4 quarterfinals.

Ejani Shakir had a 4-yard TD grab from Jimmy Wilson and Darrien Smith posted a pair of sacks.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: South Jersey high school football roundup: Week 9